U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Unemployment and labor force participation rates down in August 2012

September 11, 2012

In August 2012, the unemployment rate edged down to 8.1 percent. Since the beginning of this year, the rate has held in a narrow range of 8.1 to 8.3 percent. The number of unemployed persons, at 12.5 million, was little changed in August.

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was little changed at 8.0 million in August. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

These data are from the Current Population Survey program and are seasonally adjusted. To learn more, see "The Employment Situation — August 2012," (HTML) (PDF) news release USDL-12-1796. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.